Bighorn Battlefield, Kamping with a "K" and the Visible Vault

Casper to Billings, MT was an easy drive, comparatively. Only four or five hours on Interstate. Speed limits out here are aggressive - 75 mph - and everyone drives like they mean it.

When I saw the sign for Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, I pulled in. For those of you who were passing notes to Jimmy Bowman during U.S. History when you should have been listening, the Little Bighorn is where Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry met their demise under a hail of arrows shot by warriors of several Indian nations. Two highlights; the first, a stellar interpretive lecture by a park ranger complete with dramatic pauses and the conclusion, "Now you know more about the Battle of Little Bighorn than Custer did."

The second, a memorial to the Native warriors and all the different Nations that united for a common cause - to repel the blue coats and stop the white invaders. The U.S. Indian policy and resultant genocide still outrage my heart. This is a haunting monument, designed as a circular earthwork carved into the prairie. From inside, the Cavalry obelisk is visible through the "spirit gate" which symbolically welcomes the Cavalry dead into the sacred circle. The interior walls show the names/tribes of those women children and warriors who fell in the fight for their lands and way of life. The picture above is the iron sculpture on the monument by Native artist Colleen Cutschall.

Since I couldn't find the price I wanted for lodging, and The Warbonnet Inn didn't look too promising, I reserved a Kamping Kabin at the world's first KOA campground.  KKs are one room structures with room for four - bunk beds for the kiddies and a full-sized bed for ma and pa. It is, essentially, a tent with walls and an air conditioner - and a porch swing which made me decide I want one in my living room. (Note to landlord.) The KOA is just out of hearing range of I-90 by the Yellowstone River in Billings. A trail runs next to the Yellowstone, more primitive than what was in Casper - euphemistically referred to as a "nature trail." Lots of insectual wildlife (read: grasshoppers). Along the way I met Carol, the owner of the campground and two others, walking with her rescued Westhighland terrier, Buddy. Buddy was a cautious guy, but finally did sniff at my running shoes. Kabin impressions: The Mennonite family that camped behind me, mom and the girl in violet floral ankle-length dresses and small bonnets, Dad and sons in typical guy street wear. Nineteenth century meets cargo pants casual. They all camped in a tent, and not a peep after 10 p.m. quiet time.  But I noticed that both mom and dad had cells phones. Then there was the guy in the cabin next to me who pulled up the morning I left with a pickup truck, tarp pulled over the box. When I walked back from the shower, I noticed the tarp pulled back to reveal a whole box of plastic bags - grocery bags, department store bags - all full. And him, standing at the fire grate feeding papers into the fire. (I saw nothing, officer, really.) Kabin life was pretty sweet, especially that porch swing, but I've decided that I want a bathroom closer than 50 yards away.

One of Billings' treasures is the Yellowstone Art Museum (YAM). Formerly the county jail, an updated facade has been built onto the front of the original building. On the main floor, the museum boasts a young artists gallery full of art created by high school students (and it's good), a consignment gallery, and three galleries for changing shows.Currently, those three adjacent galleries host a Polly Apfelbaum show called "Mini Hollywood", referring to one of three places that spaghetti westerns were filmed. Wide swaths of fabric stretch across the floors as though just rolled off the bolt, irridescent or sequined strips that create a shimmering aura in peripheral vision as you pass by them. The effect is disorienting and disquieting, but for all that I confess that I have never been a huge fan of conceptual minimalism, and if too much has to be explained before I walk in, I'm already annoyed. It seemed that this exhibit was something akin to kids playing with fabric and saying, "hey, if I do this ... isn't that cool?" And it is. But three galleries?

The real attraction at YAM is on the second floor in the John Buck exhibit of kinetic sculpture and woodblock prints. Buck is married to Deborah Butterfield (creator of Ruanji at the Palm Springs Art Museum - she's a sculptress who does only horses) and they live in Montana.  Buck is an artist that takes on the universe - literally. One of his sculptures is literally a globe with several societal icons orbiting it. The whole thing is wild, all carved wood and moving parts. I tried to find an image but could not. You'll have to go to PSAM where they have pieces of his work, or search the Web.

The true delight of visiting the museum was going across the street to the Visible Vault where the permanent collection can be viewed. Also in that building is studio space for an artist in residence. The woman at the desk failed to tell me this, so when I walked in I think both the artist and I were a little startled. Collection? There's a collection here? I was too fascinated by what Tracy Linder was assembling - cow faces in 3/4 profile, all identical, molded from virgin white cotton paper fiber. Hard to explain, but striking to see. Four or five were complete and on the wall. A few more were in various stages of assemblage and Tracy and I chatted while she patted fiber into a mold, sponged it, patted it, strained more paper, repeated the process. Her work strips the context away from the mundane, elevating it to a spiritual level. Sugar beets made of resin suspended from the ceiling, worn leather gloves treated to stay in various poses, and wings (pictured above) from her show called "Windswept."  Tracy is fed by the Montana plains and lives near Billings on a farm with her husband. Go to her website to learn more about her - www.tracylinder.com. Fabulous, striking, thoughtful work. And a delightful person.

On to Missoula to explore the University of Montana.